About Himmel's

From the owners of the original Pizza D.O.C., we welcome you to Himmel’s. In 2014, we have expanded our menu to include many more authentic German dishes that are receiving rave reviews from customers. When you walk into our restaurant, we want you to feel like you are at home. Our amazing wood-burning oven is the first of its kind in the city of Chicago. The oven is straight from Rome and has been making authentic pizzas and breads for more then 16 years. The flavor profile this culinary vessel brings to pizza is so spectacular; we just couldn’t let our other foods get jealous. So we started to experiment and found that our specials have been such a hit, we wanted to make them a more permanent fixture.Our wood-burning oven will still be churning out our famous Roman style pizzas made with the freshest ingredients, handcrafted and baked in a 700-degree oak burning brick oven. We pride ourselves on our outstanding food cuisine and service. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Great atmosphere, great service, good food. We were a bit disappointed because they advertised a Valentine's menu consisting of a great balance of German & Italian fare- and they had no idea what we were talking about when we arrived

We were celebrating an 85th birthday, and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating to the guest of honor and our family. They were very attentive. Too much food, and they most happily wrapped it up for us to take home. We couldn't get over how wonderful our party was, and hope to come back again

The restaurant was recommended by a friend. I had been there when it was Pizza DOC. The food was surprisingly good. We felt somewhat out of place because the restaurant was reasonably full, almost everyone seemed to know each other, it was a mainly an older crowd, a lot of people were conversing in German, throughout the meal, an older gentleman played the accordion and sang in German, and some couples, probably in their 70s or even 80s, danced. We felt a little bit too young, too cool, and too not-German.

If you are looking for amazing authentic German Food , with a friendly and fantastic service.... this is your restaurant!!!!It truly brought me back to my childhood.... what an amazing experience!!!!!Delicious food and unforgettable service!!!!!Btw, prices are too good to be true.

The atmosphere was great. People were dining for all sorts of things, from dancing with the live music to Birthdays to date nights and groups gathering. The portions are HUGE. The food was perfect and the service was attentive.

Tags: Comfort Food, Good for a Date, Kid-friendly, Good for Birthdays, Bar Seating, Special Occasion

This place was great. Live music on Sat night. Terrific service with a good vibe. Authentic German food. Schnitzel and spaetzle dishes are so good. Red cabbage and dumplings as aide were perfect. Sausage appetizer with the bed of sauerkraut was a big hit. People dancing to the one man according player. Employee sitting in to play some bongos. Some German toasts btw songs. Will be going back for sure.

This is one of my favorite places. The staff are attentive and friendly. The food mix of German and Italian seems odd. However both are prepared well and I have never been disappointed with a menu choice. We dine there often.

The only really bad part of the evening is that, in our group of seven, three people ordered pizzas, which were not delivered to the table until well after the other four of us had received our food. Also, they were a little light on their pour of a scotch on the rocks. When they finally arrived, the pizzas were quite good, as was the lamb shank. The grilled calamari and the liver dumpling soup were just okay.

The food was very good and it was unique to have a choice between Italian and German cuisine. The service was very slow and the waitress apologized saying that several large tables had been seated at the same time. I have a feeling that their kitchen is not the fastest. Given the great food we will return to see and perhaps try something from their pizza oven.

Is it German? Is it Italian? It’s BOTH, done very well. Went before a show at Old Town School of Folk Music, time was tight, they got us served very efficiently and as friendly as could be given our time constraint. The food was absolutely delicious - the Rahm Schnitzel was crazy good, Weiner Schnitzel, same. The arancini, calamari, sausage sampler and bruschetta apps were fantastic. Decent beer selection and tiny but efficient wine list - complimentary to the food, which is the star of this place. They kept our leftovers in the fridge for us while we went to the show and we spun by afterward to pick them up and have a nightcap and then got to chat with our server from earlier about the quirky and interesting history of Himmel’s. I went back a week later with my son and his friend, a vegetarian, she was having a hard time deciding because there were so many options that either were meatless or she could ask to be meatless. Highly recommend Himmel’s. The moment you walk through the door greeted by the smell of the wood burning oven you will be hooked. Live music a few times a week but I missed both times I was there. Ask for a table away from the door, it was relatively chilly being seated there was the food was so good it didn’t matter to us.

Our food selections were just OK, but I think we just ordered the wrong thing. My rahmschnitzel wasn't very flavorful, and the meat was cut into chunks rather than slices, and the chunks were not all that tender. Also, the sauce didn't have much flavor. My husband's trout tasted a little too fishy. But the sides were very good and the quantities were huge. We saw a schnitzel go buy that could have fed the whole table.

Service was excellent, but we ate early and there weren't very many people there. We'll probably come again and try something different, though it's a bit of a shlep for us.

Excellent German food. Large portions at competative prices. Parking is another thing if you can find it. Be aware of the construction right in front of the restaurant. Definitely a "go back to" restaurant.

I hope it was just an off night for our waitress, but when she finally arrived at our table ( it was later in the evening, so the place was not busy), she couldn't have been less interested. . . and that's the 'kind' assessment.I've been to this place before, when it was Pizza D.O.C. and since it became Himmel. I've liked the food and the room before. They have an authentic Italian pizza oven, so the pizzas have been thin, Napoli-style and delicious. My friend that I took is from Sicily, and he wanted to try a variation on one of the pizzas that would be more 'authentic' to what he knew from home. When he asked the waitress if it were possible ( and it was a little different, but not hard to do) her reply was: "Oh, we can't do that." Period. End of discussion. Lovely.AND the music. . . OK, I'm all for 'A Taste of the Old Homeland', but this play list, blasting into a mostly empty room, was perfect only if you were a Swiss goat herder with a penchant for Euro-Disco-Polka meets German-Oompa-Kabarett-Komisch-Pop. Impossible to ignore (or talk over), and unlikely to please anyone except for the really, really drunk.

Great little neighborhood place. Good food served in ample portions, eclectic mix of Italian and German food all at reasonable prices. Attentive staff, gracious owner. Live music on certain nights. A new favorite.

What a pleasant surprise! This was a last minute choice because none of the other German restaurants I tried in this neighborhood had openings at 6 p.m. The food was probably the best we have had In a very long time. Everything was perfectly prepared and delicious. The red cabbage and spaetzle were exemplary and my daughter's mashed potatoes were fluffy and tasty. I couldn't recommend this restaurant more highly. The cuisine is German and Italian. We sampled both and were beyond pleased. It felt like everything we ordered had been prepared specially for us. Sadly, there were very few patrons when we were there. We can't wait to go back. This will definitely be our new special occasion restaurant.

Himmels is always outstanding. Northern Italian focus which is a blend of Italian and german culture. Great ambiance, fantastic authentic dishes of the region, great selection. primo spot for a night out for two or a small group. The 3 piece ensemble with a lead vocal this last evening was outstanding

Tags: Special Occasion, Casual, Good for a Date, Cozy, Romantic, Good for Anniversaries

The food was bland from the tasteless calamari to the Caesar salad to the salmon and Wienerschnitzel. The noise level was unbearable with the guitar player in the background. We yelled to communicate with one another and with the waitstaff. Remove the entertainment and improve the food then you'll have a great restaurant.

Himmel's is an interesting combo of Italian-inspired and German-inspired fare. My guests and I ordered the meat and cheese appetizer, and each ordered one of the German entrees. The portions were large and I would caution folks to order one entree for 2 people if they do not have hearty appetites. Of course, extras were packed to take home. For dessert, we shared one serving of Tiramisu which was delicious.

We went on a Friday evening and there was live music as background, and as the evening progressed, several large groups arrived and it was a bit noisy, but still a festive atmosphere.

Food was great but the live music was way too loud. It made conversation difficult. Our friends don't want to go back. If they're going to have live music, it should not be amplified at all. Himmel's is not a nightclub.

Funky, old-school neighborhood establishment so that's fun. There's a decent by the glass wine selection, the bread was delicious, and thumbs up on the French onion soup. The spatzel was yummy; the side salad that comes with it was ok. The chicken parmesan was ENORMOUS. The actual chicken was very good but the accompanying red sauce was pretty tasteless. Overall, I would recommend Himmel's and we will definitely be back.

We've been many times and it's usually great but Sunday was a really disappointing experience. It took nearly 30 minutes from the time we were sat to get an order in. And we were not looking for a long experience, this was a Sunday night with tired people who just wanted a good meal and to get home. Service was painfully slow and the pizzas were overcooked. Hopefully this was just one bad night and perhaps they were understaffed but definitely disappointing.

We arrived for a 6:30 reservation, but one member of our party was running late. We had 2 small kids and we're ordered crayons for them, but no bread or offer to order an appetizer (which would have been nice to tide the kids over). It wasn't until the last if our party arrived 20 minutes later that we were able to place our order, at which time bread was brought over. Our appetizer came out right away, but we didn't get our entree until AN HOUR later. The kids were starving and tired. We were told they had just gotten a new computer system which is what slowed things down, but it's hard to understand how our server didn't go to the kitchen to have the food expedited. Also, the fact that she sat talking with people at another table for 10 minutes and it didn't seem that anyone else's food was delayed (we saw people come, eat and leave while we were waiting for our entrees) made that explanation difficult to believe. There was no discount taken off the bill, but a dessert tray arrived after we paid and were literally walking out the door. We had already made plans for dessert and would have declined if it had been offered ahead of time. Plus, it felt like too little too late. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun, but I'll have a hard time giving them another try. Definitely won't be bringing the kids back. Very disappointing, as we were celebrating my son's 6th birthday with his grandpa from out of town.

Amazing gem for brunch! The healthiest brunch buffet I've seen in a while. Typical European food (I'm French so I know what I'm talking about!) grilled veggies, poached salmon and home made tasty omelets. We'll be back! Oh, and very kid friendly too.

Great sides and not bad on entrees. Service the day we went was honestly awful. I expected more communication from our server and we didn't receive it. Stretches for food were long! We waited 45 minutes to receive a delicious wood-fired pizza that should have taken about 10 minutes as no one else was there for pickup and no one else had ordered. (Not many people at the time we went). I don't know if the good meal negates the service and it will be quite a while before I go back.

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